Palaeoenvironmental Change in the Macquarie Marshes, NSW, Australia
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2014 Palaeoenvironmental change in the Macquarie Marshes, NSW, Australia Lili Yu University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] School of Earth & Environmental Sciences Palaeoenvironmental Change in the Macquarie Marshes, NSW, Australia LILI YU This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the award of the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of University of Wollongong July 2014 2 ABSTRACT The Macquarie Marshes (MM), located in semiarid northwest New South Wales (NSW), are a unique wetland system for its inland location, high biodiversity and important role as ―sanctuary‖ or ―refuge‖ for flora and fauna especially colonially breeding waterbirds. However, the high demand for water in this semiarid area especially to support agriculture has led to the decline of the wetlands and their associated wildlife in particular since the 1950s. This PhD project analyses surface sediments and modern plant samples from the main areas of the northern and southern marshes to assess the most appropriate proxies to be applied to sediment cores to reveal the 'condition' of the MM. Four cores from the northern marshes where organic matter was better preserved were chosen to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental history of the marshes. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) single-grain dating was applied to obtain the chronology; lipid biomarkers particularly n-alkanes and α-phellandrene were analysed to trace the vegetation change in the marshes. The palaeoenvironmental history of MM in the past ~ 50 ka is reconstructed: the site where the modern Marshes are likely had been inundated since the late Pleistocene and experienced oscillations of dry/wet climate which in turn led to the change of water level and in response the variation of the vegetation types and abundances. The abundance of wetland plants was probably highest during the establishment of the marshes 8-6 ka ago. A dry period at about 2 ka is shown by C4 drought-tolerant plants. It is not until after European arrival (from the 1880s) that terrestrial plants started intruding and gradually replacing the wetland plants. The most striking shift of aquatic wetland plants to more terrestrial plants in this ecosystem occurred in the 1950s to 1970s due to water diversion after the construction of upstream dams. Compared to natural environmental changes, anthropogenic effects have a greater and irreversible impact on the well-being of the marshes. The fact that the MM are free from anthropogenic pollutants (i.e. pesticides from cotton farming and faecal contaminant from the grazing industry) indicates that water loss, rather than pollutants, is the main cause of the decline of the wetlands. i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following people and organisations for helping me to achieve this PhD – a significant milestone in my life. To Professor Allan R. Chivas, my principal supervisor, for introducing me to the field of Quaternary Geoscience; and for guiding me through, and contributing to my research. I wish to thank him for his support throughout my PhD, and for allowing me the necessary scope and independence to develop as a scientist: through trial and error, and continual learning. I have always admired Professor Chivas‘ insightfulness and extensive scientific knowledge. To Dr Adriana García, my co-supervisor and dear friend, for her support and assistance in this thesis. Dr García welcomed me from the first day I arrived in Australia, and was always willing to listen, and provide me with every support, both as an invaluable mentor and confidant. To Dr Jianfang Hu, for introducing me to Professor Allan R. Chivas and Dr Adriana García; for her supervision and patience; and for her constructive suggestions and numerous discussions in relation to the organic geochemistry aspect of my work. To New South Wales National Parks for permitting us to access the Macquarie Marshes. To Mr Ray Jones (NSW National Parks) for his invaluable knowledge and help in the field. To Myra and Phillip Tolhurst from Willie Retreat for their warm welcome and kind help during our visits to the Macquarie Marshes. To Brent Peterson, Dr Tony Nicholas, Dr Paolo Abballe, Dr Paul Hesse, Dr Tim Ralph, Dr Scott Mooney and Daniel Smith for their help in collecting samples during the fieldtrips to Macquarie Marshes. To Richard Miller, Heidi Brown, Chris Owers and Yi Lu for assisting me with the mappings for this thesis. To Professor Richard (Bert) Roberts, Dr Zenobia Jacobs, Dr Terry Lachlan, Dr Lee Arnold, Dr Martina Demuro and Dr Bo Li, for their invaluable help with the OSL work. To AINSE grant 09/P016 to A.R. Chivas for supporting the radiocarbon dating used in this thesis. iii To Dr Paolo Abballe, Florian Dux and especially David Wheeler for their solid geochemistry laboratory help; and special thanks to David Wheeler for his help with the EA analysis. To Dr Jochen Brocks and Janet Hope from the Australian National University, and John Korth from the School of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong for their assistance in GC-MS analysis. To José Abrantes, Associate Professor Brian Jones and Associate Professor Paul Carr for their help with the XRD, XRF and particle size analysis. To Dr Jianfang Hu, Dr Jan-Hendrik May, Venera Espanon, Dr Lee Arnold, Dr Martina Demuro and Dr Bo Li, for their help with my data analysis and proofreading; and for their constructive suggestions. To the Environmental Trust of NSW (Grant 2006/ RD0055 to Chivas and García) for providing me a PhD scholarship and supporting the broader project on the Marshes. To the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong for offering me a job; which allowed me to continue with my research after my scholarship had expired. To the kind academic and general staff in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, for all of their support and help. In particular, I wish to thank Professor Colin Murray-Wallace, Sandra Chapman, Denise Alsop and Wendy Weeks. To my dearest friends, in particular: Chrissy, Paolo, Tony, Venera, Elena, Sabina, Bec, Bo and Jing, Richard and Emily; for their company, friendship, love and help through all these years. To my wonderful parents and husband Ted; for their unconditional love; their steadfast belief in me, and for their strong support. Thank you for your understanding and patience throughout the many weekends, holidays and late nights working in the lab or preparing the thesis. None of this would have been possible without you. To my beautiful baby Paolo; for all of the times I was taken away, writing up this thesis, and could not spend as much time with you as I would have liked. Lastly, many thanks go also, to my many friends and colleagues; whom I have not listed here, but who have offered their time and support. Thank you for your generosity. iv DECLARATION I, Lili YU, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirement of the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Lili YU, July 2014. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iii DECLARATION ............................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................